Book excerpt: A quick-access practical handbook for the use of ultrasound in critical care and emergency department settings Point-of-care ultrasound offers a readily available, noninvasive, reproducible modality that can expedite and improve care in the critical care and the emergency setting. This handy guide clarifies basic concepts and provides the hands-on guidance necessary for clinicians to arrive at better therapeutic decisions and perform safer procedures with the use of ultrasound. Handbook of Critical Care and Emergency Ultrasound opens with important chapters on ultrasound basics, ultrasound orientation, and probe selection, machine controls, and equipment. 22 additional chapters cover organ or system-specific procedural applications and approaches to the trauma patient. You will also find algorithms for the patient with undifferentiated chest pain, dyspnea, hypotension, and abdominal pain. 259 drawings and photographs support the text, illustrating patient positioning, basic views, anatomy, and common pathology. Handbook of Critical Care and Emergency Ultrasound is the perfect resource for critical care and emergency providers who wish to deepen their knowledge of sonography and broaden their use of ultrasound in the care of their patient.